BCCI look to reappoint Anil Kumble as head coach after Ravi Shastri’s departure: Reports

With Ravi Shastri’s tenure as Team India’s head coach coming to an end after the T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman, former India spinner Anil Kumble is likely to return for a second term in that position. 

The development was confirmed in a report by The Indian Express, which stated that the Supreme Court-mandated panel is devicing ways to get Kumble reappointed as the head coach.   

Kumble is currently working with IPL franchise Punjab Kings and was the head coach of Team India for a year until 2017 before stepping down from the position. The spinner had then decided to quit after reports of differences between him and captain Virat Kohli emerged, with the former even expressing shock upon learning that the skipper had reservations with his style. He had then guided India to the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy, which the Men In Blue lost against Pakistan. 

Thank you! pic.twitter.com/eF5qVzdBRj

— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) June 20, 2017

The report also mentioned that Kumble then had the backing of current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who at that time was a member of the board’s Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC).

It also stated that BCCI was also keen on getting former Sri Lanka skipper and current Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene onboard, however, the Lankan showed interest in coaching his national team and the IPL franchise instead. 

Meanwhile, if Kumble wants to be reappointed as the coach of the Indian cricket team, he will have to step down from his position at Punjab Kings. 

The development comes a day after Kohli announced to quit T20I captaincy, citing workload management. The skipper released a note on social media in this regard and said that the decision was taken after consulting head coach Ravi Shastri and senior team-member Rohit Sharma.